An Excursion with a Bedouin Shepherd
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Description

Bedouins have practised sheep and goat herding and milking throughout history. Traditionally, Bedouins relied heavily on milk products for food and used goat hair to build their tents. Camels, as well as being vital for desert transportation, were also a source of nutrient-rich milk.

In this experience, the women of Disi offer you local insight into traditional Bedouin sheep herding and camel milking.

You will be taken into the desert to an area suitable for herding sheep, and will accompany a local shepherd on a brief herding mission. As you walk with the shepherd and his herd, learn about this important pursuit and its significance to Bedouin life. When you arrive at your endpoint, the women will show you how to milk the sheep, as well as a camel, and you can taste the fresh milk. The women make butter and jameed (for mansaf) from the sheep and goat milk.

You will live the full herding experience, helping to collect wood to make a fire for tea, cooking a simple meal of bread and tomato stew, and forage local herbs for your tea, such as wild za’atar.

 

 

Distinctive value

This is an authentic Bedouin experience that connects visitors to the traditional lifestyle, the land, and the animals. It is unique in its simplicity, as the shepherd’s life is one of quiet and contemplation on long solitary walks with the animals. The activity maintains the low impact of Bedouin life on the surrounding environment; you will carry only what you need, make modest meals, and leave behind only the ashes of your fire.

 

 

Activities
  • Arrive at the Disi Women’s Cooperative where you will be greeted and then driven into the desert.
  • Meet the shepherd and accompany him as he takes his sheep out for grazing. Learn how to use a Bedouin musical instrument to graze, collect, and feed the sheep.
  • Return to base where the women will show you how to milk a sheep and a camel, and allow those who wish to try their hand at it.
  • The women will tell you about the importance and benefits of camel milk to the Bedouin, and you will get to have a taste.
  • A meal can be combined with this experience. Ask about options when booking.